August 2, 2025 – Trust
Sleeping is becoming more uncomfortable, and my shoulder has started popping. If surgery is ahead, Lord, I accept. If total healing is not Your will for me, I do ask for temporary healing so I can help with the renovations at our rental house and so I can help Carrie after her surgery. I know things happen in this world and You don’t always fix them (even though You are able) in the ways we think they should be. I trust You.
Streams – “God will make our obstacles serve His purposes….often we pray for their removal….These are the very conditions we need for achievement…the means of producing the gifts and qualities for which we have been praying….” A sore shoulder? Ok. I trust You – just as I would try to do with any other issue (health or otherwise) that may come up. The verse for today is from Isaiah 49:11 – “I will turn all my mountains into roads.” Cowman writes (or maybe it’s F.B. Meyer), “There is nothing in your life that distresses or concerns you that cannot become submissive to the highest purpose. Remember, they are God’s mountains. He puts them there for a reason….” So, here’s where my questions come up – not a lack of faith, just questions. God is ok with questions. They promote communication and relationship.
God didn’t put this “injury mountain” in my shoulder – did He? No, I don’t think so, just like He doesn’t give anyone any illness, but, from what I understand, He does allow things to happen and sometimes to slow us down for many reasons…rest, contemplation, learning to accept help from others, etc. This pain started about 10 years ago when Don and I were remodeling the house he’d bought across the street that we call 3 Oaks (because of the three…well, you get it). Don was between jobs at the time so we worked every day, rather than just on the weekends, so we treated ourselves to massages almost every week and my therapist would pull my arms out to the sides and above and shake them and rotate them. Once in a blue moon that’s probably fine, but apparently it’s not great every week.
It took me a while to put 2 and 2 together because I thought it was all the work that was hurting my shoulder. I guess it was both the work and the massages together. I had it looked at off and on through the years and kept the pain mostly at bay – until now – when we began remodeling again. Actually, we did some remodeling on our other rental house I think in late 2019 early 2020 and I don’t remember having issues. I’d have to check my journals from back then. So, hmm, God can make the mountains into roads or leave them as mountains depending on His purposes in our lives. I guess I knew that but still when you’re in the middle of your own mountain you don’t always immediately remember the lessons you’ve learned. Or I don’t at least. Ok, God. I trust You with this.
Speaking of trust (which came up in yesterday’s Streams), I googled Becky Tirabassi last night and in her podcast from yesterday she talked about trust. Also, I read that she pastors a church in Newport Beach, CA where I was, around this time last year, at a cousin’s funeral (on my father’s side) in an area near there. The day before the funeral I took an Uber to Newport Beach and wandered around for a while. If I’d known she was there, I’d have tried to go to her church on Sunday before I flew home. And, another interesting thing is that Don wore the Newport Beach shirt yesterday that I brought him from that trip. What do all those connections mean God? I trust You will answer that in Your time.
I was on my own the day before the funeral because, though I knew my cousin, I didn’t know any of his family except through Christmas card photos each year. I’ve always felt that this was such a loss (but I do understand, because they were in California while my family was in Virginia so that would have been an expensive endeavor for my parents to get us all there when we were younger.) I know the cousins several deep on my mother’s side because we’ve had reunions for most of my life (on this side of the country). They are more than just faces in photos and so was my cousin because he made the effort to visit us when the opportunities arose (and when he created them).
In 1992, my cousin met us for lunch when we drove through the Los Angeles area on our way to my father’s Ranger Reunion in San Diego. In 2007, he drove down to San Diego to meet us again for lunch when our whole family (Mama’s side) was there for a family reunion. Then a number of years ago he drove to Ojai CA where Don and I were staying for a conference with his company and then in 2013, he flew to Birmingham for Mama’s funeral. He was such a comfort to Daddy, and I told this to his family and friends when I got up to share my thoughts after a few others had spoken and no one else seemed to be getting up. I told them what they all knew – he was a special man who took the time to reach out and connect with others.
JC – “Bring Me the sacrifice of your time….few of My children take time to sit quietly in My Presence. But for those who do, blessings flow like streams of living water.” Whew, I’m glad I decided to go ahead and read this morning because I had been thinking (since it IS Saturday) that I needed to get on over to the rental house with Don and get to work since we have much to get in order before the HVAC installation in a week or so. God will multiply my time and effectiveness over there and elsewhere.
Power – “Mark 4:24 says the amount of time you give to the Word will determine the amount of knowledge and virtue that comes back to you.” Yep, if I was reading this later in the day, I’d really feel like I was being taught a lesson! How interesting though that one of the last devotions yesterday mentioned spending time with God. I guess maybe He was preparing me for this morning so I wouldn’t put off our time together. “We don’t expect to be experts at other things in life without a lot of study, so why would we expect living the Christian life to be any different?” Whoops….that was August 3rd’s devotion. How did I read that without noticing? Divine intervention? I guess I’ll read Aug 2nd tomorrow.
Utmost – John 16:33 – “In the world ye shall have tribulations: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” I read this verse at a friend’s memorial service when I was 17. He was actually sort of my boyfriend, I guess, after four months of letters and dates (one of which was on a sailboat to the Bahamas. That’s a story for another time – boy could I sidetrack myself trying to even give a brief account. I’m taking too long as it is!) Chambers writes, “An average view of the Christian life is that it means deliverance from trouble. It is deliverance in trouble, which is very different….God does not give us overcoming life: He gives us life as we overcome….The saint is hilarious when he is crushed with difficulties because the thing is so ludicrously impossible to anyone but God.” I remember feeling that way quite a few times this last year while caring for Daddy. Most every time I heard the reminder from God, and from all of my devotion-book friends, saying to call on Him. And He always answered in one way or another!
Prevail 214 – God “is not indifferent about anything. Never confuse God’s patience with complacency.” That’s why Don and I finally got married. God had been patient while we finished raising our children on our own dimes, but it was time in 2022 to either break up or trust Him and get married. I’m glad we chose the latter!
Max – Psalm 7:11 – “God is a just judge.” Max addresses the choices we make [like mine to lift my arms painting and to get weekly massages] and how we have to deal with the consequences (but not alone if we will look to God).
JA – “Spend time pondering My greatness and My endless commitment to you….you don’t need to worry that I’ll stop loving you because your performance isn’t good enough…Let My unending commitment to you be a comfort as you journey through this trouble-filled world. Someday you will live with Me in paradise.” Thank you God (but, as I’ve said before, when I read about heaven right now, my heart still catches realizing Daddy is there and not here. I miss Mama, and others, too but this loss is still fresh).
(note: I got the blog in before noon today – thank You God for multiplying my time!)
